Deflecting Member for Making Fibrous Structures

ABSTRACT

A deflection member that includes a reinforcing member and a plurality of tiles fastened to the reinforcing member.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority under 35U.S.C. § 120 to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/794,025, filed onOct. 26, 2017, which claims the benefit, under 35 USC § 119(e), of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/413,585, filed on Oct. 26,2016 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/527,056, filedon Jun. 30, 2017, the entire disclosures of which are fully incorporatedby reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to deflection members for makingstrong, soft, absorbent fibrous webs, such as, for example, paper webs.More particularly, this invention is concerned with structured fibrouswebs, equipment used to make such structured fibrous webs, and processestherefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Products made from a fibrous web are used for a variety of purposes. Forexample, paper towels, facial tissues, toilet tissues, napkins, and thelike are in constant use in modern industrialized societies. The largedemand for such paper products has created a demand for improvedversions of the products. If the paper products such as paper towels,facial tissues, napkins, toilet tissues, mop heads, and the like are toperform their intended tasks and to find wide acceptance, they mustpossess certain physical characteristics.

Among the more important of these characteristics are strength,softness, absorbency, and cleaning ability. Strength is the ability of apaper web to retain its physical integrity during use. Softness is thepleasing tactile sensation consumers perceive when they use the paperfor its intended purposes. Absorbency is the characteristic of the paperthat allows the paper to take up and retain fluids, particularly waterand aqueous solutions and suspensions. The absolute quantity of fluid agiven amount of paper will hold is important, but also the rate at whichthe paper will absorb the fluid. Cleaning ability refers to a fibrousstructures' capacity to remove and/or retain soil, dirt, or body fluidsfrom a surface, such as a kitchen counter, or body part, such as theface or hands of a user.

Through-air drying (“TAD”) papermaking belts comprising a reinforcingmember and a resinous framework, and/or the fibrous webs made usingthese belts, are known and described, for example, in commonly assignedU.S. Pat. No. 4,528,239, issued Jul. 9, 1985 to Trokhan. Trokhan teachesa belt in which the resinous framework is joined to the fluid-permeablereinforcing member (such as a woven structure, or a felt). The resinousframework may be continuous, semi-continuous, comprise a plurality ofdiscrete protuberances, or any combination thereof. The resinousframework extends outwardly from the reinforcing member to form aweb-side of the belt (i.e., the surface upon which the web is disposedduring a papermaking process), a backside opposite to the web-side, anddeflection conduits extending therebetween. The deflection conduitsprovide spaces into which papermaking fibers deflect under applicationof a pressure differential during a papermaking process. Because of thisquality, such papermaking belts are also known in the art as “deflectionmembers.”

An improvement on deflection members to be used as papermaking belts toprovide paper having increased surface area is disclosed in commonlyassigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/132,291, filed Apr. 19,2016 in the name of Manifold et al., teaching deflection members madevia additive manufacturing, such as 3-D printing.

However, the deflection members and processes of Manifold et al. can beimproved in areas related to the economical commercialization ofprocesses regarding commercial papermaking machines or commercialnonwoven making. Improvements can be made with respect to the size of anadditively manufactured deflection member and its durability when usedto make a fibrous web. Papermaking processes, for example, can requirebelts as wide as 110 or 220 inches and as long as 60 meters, and can berequired to endure extreme temperatures, tensions, and pressures in acyclic process.

Accordingly, there is an unmet need for a deflection member having athree-dimensional topography afforded by additive manufacturing on whichfibrous webs can be formed, and which can endure the processingenvironment of a fibrous web making machine.

Additionally, there is an unmet need for a method for making adeflection member having a three-dimensional topography afforded byadditive manufacturing on which fibrous webs can be formed, and whichcan endure the processing environment of a fibrous web making machine.

Additionally, there is a need for improved nonwovens for use astopsheets in baby care and fem care products. Accordingly, there is anunmet need for a deflection member having a three-dimensional topographyafforded by additive manufacturing on which nonwoven webs can be formed,and which can endure the processing environment of a nonwoven web makingmachine. Further, there is an unmet need for a method for making adeflection member having a three-dimensional topography afforded byadditive manufacturing on which nonwoven webs can be formed, and whichcan endure the processing environment of a nonwoven web making machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A deflection member is disclosed. The deflection member includes areinforcing member and a plurality of tiles fastened to the reinforcingmember.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a form of a deflection member of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the deflection member shown in FIG.1, taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a form of a deflection member of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a form of tiles of a deflection member of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a form of tiles of a deflection member of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the tiles of the deflection membershown in FIG. 5, taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a photograph of a form of a deflection member of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of representative stitching patterns on adeflection member of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of representative stitching patterns on adeflection member of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a form of a deflection member of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the deflection member shown in FIG.10, taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 10, before the tile and reinforcingmember are brought in contact;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the deflection member shown in FIG.10, taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 10, after the tile and reinforcingmember are brought in contact;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a form of a deflection member of the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the deflection member shown in FIG.13, taken along lines 14-14 of FIG. 13, before the tile and reinforcingmember are brought in contact;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the deflection member shown in FIG.13, taken along lines 14-14 of FIG. 13, after the tile and reinforcingmember are brought in contact;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a form of a deflection member of the presentinvention;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the deflection member shown in FIG.16, taken along lines 17-17 of FIG. 16, before the tile and reinforcingmember are brought in contact;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the deflection member shown in FIG.16, taken along lines 17-17 of FIG. 16, after the tile and reinforcingmember are brought in contact;

FIG. 19 is a plan view of a form of a deflection member of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the deflection member shown in FIG.19, taken along lines 20-20 of FIG. 19, before the tile and reinforcingmember are brought in contact;

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of the deflection member shown in FIG.19, taken along lines 20-20 of FIG. 19, after the tile and reinforcingmember are brought in contact;

FIG. 22 is a schematic representation of a papermaking process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Deflection Member:

The deflection member of the present invention has a portion describedherein as a “reinforcing member,” and a portion described herein as a“patterned framework” having voids and/or protuberances. The deflectionmembers detailed herein may be continuous belts, a portion of acontinuous belt, endless belts, and/or seamless belts. The patternedframework can be a structure made up of one or more tiles manufacturedby molding processes, such as injection molding, or by additivemanufacturing processes, including what is commonly described as “3-Dprinting.” Visually, the deflection members as detailed herein canresemble deflection members in which a resinous framework is UV-cured toa reinforcing member and used in a papermaking process, and it willtherefore be described in similar terms. The term “deflection member” asused herein refers to a structure useful for making fibrous webs such asabsorbent paper products or nonwoven webs, and which has protuberancesand/or voids, which are openings in the tile through which fibers canpass, that define deflection conduits. A deflection member may comprisedifferent features and different materials for the different features,such as the patterned framework and reinforcing member as describedbelow. In particular, as described herein, a patterned framework cancomprise a plurality of tiles, with each tile being a portion of thepatterned framework. In one form, the entirety of a surface of areinforcing member is substantially covered with closely fitting tilesto achieve a deflection member in a belt form suitable for manufacturingpaper products and/or nonwoven webs.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a deflection member 10 of the presentdisclosure may have a patterned framework 12. In FIGS. 1 and 2, theexemplified patterned framework is a single tile 24 utilized toillustrate the general concept, but in many forms, patterned framework12 will be a plurality of tiles. Accordingly, as detailed herein, whileportions of the description/drawings may reference a single tile, suchdescription also encompasses the forms of deflection member 10 thatinclude a patterned framework 12 including a plurality of tiles. Thedeflection member 10 may comprise three components: (1) one or moretiles 24 (e.g., a plurality of tiles) that make up a patterned framework12; (2) a reinforcing member 14 or one or more portions of thereinforcing member; and (3) one or more fastening elements 26 (e.g., aplurality of fastening elements), which can be, for example, asewing/stitching thread or filament, a rivet, adhesive, curable resin(e.g., UV curable resins, epoxies), mechanical fasteners, combinationsthereof, or other similar element(s) that can attach a tile 24 to thereinforcing member 14.

Various types of specific fastening elements 26 are further detailedherein. In the form of deflection member 10 that is illustrated in FIGS.1 and 2, fastening element 26 is a thread that is used to stitchpatterned framework 12 to reinforcing member 14. The figuresillustrating defection member 10 with stitching utilized as fasteningelement 26 will be used herein to help describe the general concept ofdeflection members that have the three components detailed above;however, stitching is just one variation of the fastening element and isnot limiting. Accordingly, any general description of deflection member10 detailed herein, or other elements of the deflection member detailedherein (tiles/patterned framework, reinforcing member), may be combinedwith any of the variations of fastening element 26, 26A, 26B, 26C, 26Ddetailed herein.

Reinforcing member 14 can be foraminous, having an open area sufficientto allow fluid, such as air or water to pass through during apapermaking or nonwoven making operation. The reinforcing member can bea film or sheet, such as a perforated polymer film or a perforatedmetallic sheet. The reinforcing member, as illustrated herein, can alsobe made of woven filaments 8 as is known in the art of papermakingfabrics. In some non-limiting forms, the woven filaments are made ofsynthetic fibers, metallic fibers, carbon fibers, silicon carbidefibers, fiberglass, mineral fibers, and/or polymer fibers includingpolyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) or PBT polyester, phenol-formaldehyde(PF); polyvinyl chloride fiber (PVC); polyolefins (PP and PE); acrylicpolyesters; aromatic polyamids (aramids) such as Twaron®, Kevlar® andNomex®; polytetrafluoroethylene such as Teflon® commercially availablefrom DuPont®; polyethylene (PE), including with extremely longchains/HMPE (e.g. Dyneema or Spectra); polyphenylene sulfide (“PPS”);and/or elastomers. In one non-limiting form, the woven filaments ofreinforcing member are filaments as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,453,303issued Sep. 27, 2016 in the name of Aberg et al. Reinforcing member 14in some forms may include woven filaments that exhibit a diameter ofabout 0.20 mm to about 1.2 mm, or about 0.20 mm to about 0.55 mm, orabout 0.35 mm to about 0.45 mm. Reinforcing member 14 may bemanufactured by traditional weaving processes, or through otherprocesses such as additive manufacturing, e.g., 3-D printing.

The reinforcing member can have an open area sufficient to preventfibers from being drawn through the deflection member during adewatering process for papermaking or in a vacuum process for spunbondnonwoven making. As fibers are molded into the voids of deflectionmember 10 during production of fibrous substrates, reinforcing member 14can serve as a “backstop” to prevent, or minimize fiber loss through thedeflection member. Reinforcing member 14 also provides for fluidpermeable structural strength and stability of deflection member 10.

Each tile 24 of patterned framework 12 can have one or more deflectionconduits 16, which are the portions of the tile in which a fibrousstructure can be molded three-dimensionally, and include voids, i.e.,openings, through the tile and, if present, protuberances 18.Protuberances 18 are structures with a Z-directional height above a webside surface 22 of tile 24, as described below. Deflection conduits 16and protuberances 18 define a three-dimensional profile to tiles 24 thatcan be imparted to corresponding fibrous structures made on deflectionmember 10. As discussed more fully below, a plurality of tiles 24 can befastened onto a reinforcing member in a tessellating pattern such thatthere is little to no gap between adjacent tiles and no overlap oftiles. In this manner, many relatively small tiles produced in anadditive manufacturing process, such as 3-D printing, can be joined to areinforcing member to achieve a relatively large deflection member, suchas a belt of a size sufficient for papermaking or nonwoven making.

The size of the patterned framework 12 in belt form can be determined bythe size of corresponding reinforcing member 14 and the number, size andspacing of tiles 24 fastened onto the reinforcing member. In somenon-limiting forms, the overall size of tile 24 may be about 1 inch byabout 1 inch, about 2 inches by about 2 inches, about 3 inches by about3 inches, about 4 inches by about 4 inches, about 5 inches by about 5inches, about 10 inches by about 10 inches, about 11 inches by about 11inches, about 12 inches by about 12 inches, about 15 inches by about 15inches, about 18 inches by about 18 inches, about 24 inches by about 24inches, about 30 inches by about 30 inches, or dimensions within thosedetailed dimensions. As a non-limiting example, if reinforcing member 14is 110 inches wide, ten complete 11 inch by 11 inch tiles 24 wouldevenly fit across the width of reinforcing member 14. As anothernon-limiting example, if reinforcing member 14 is 110 inches wide, 110complete 1 inch by 1 inch tiles 24 would evenly fit across the width ofreinforcing member 14.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, tile 24 can have a three-dimensionalstructure determined by the desired three-dimensional structure of thefibrous web made thereon. The structure illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, aswell as any other descriptions disclosed herein are representative only,with the only limitations being limitations imposed by the methods ofmaking, such as additive manufacturing technology (in which the processallows for positive and/or negative angles and/or radii of curvature forsurface elements such as deflection conduits and/or protuberances). Ingeneral, a tile can have relatively large edge dimensions measured inthe MD and CD plane, and relatively small dimensions measured in theZ-direction, giving the tile a generally planar macro-form, withbackside 20 contacting the reinforcing member when fastened thereto, andweb side 22 that is web-contacting when used to make a fibrous web.Backside 20 can be generally in a plane that is disposed on the knucklesof a woven fabric of reinforcing member 14, as depicted in FIG. 2, or itcan have structure itself if desired.

Tile 24 is shown in FIG. 1 as generally square, but the shape of thetile can be any shape desired, with particular benefits of patternuniformity being achieved when the shape permits a tessellating pattern,such that there is little to no gap and no overlap between adjacenttiles. In some forms of deflection member 10, multiple tiles 24 arefastened to reinforcing member 14 in a tessellating pattern, and eachtile has the shape of a polygon with at least 3 sides, at least 4 sides,at least 5 sides, at least 6 sides, at least 7 sides, at least 8 sides,at least 9 sides, or at least 10 sides, to form patterned framework 12.In some forms of deflection member 10, multiple tiles 24 are fastened toreinforcing member 14 in a tessellating pattern and each tile has theshape of a polygon with between 3 and 10 sides, between 4 and 10 sides,between 5 and 10 sides, between 6 and 10 sides, between 7 and 10 sides,or between 8 and 10 sides, to form patterned framework 12. In some formsof deflection member 10, as seen in FIGS. 3, 8 and 9, multiple tiles 24form patterned framework 12, and the tiles may be formed in the sameoverall shape and size (e.g., the same overall sized, irregular octagonsdepicted in FIGS. 3, 8 and 9).

If creating patterned framework 12 that only consists of a single shapeof tile 24 (i.e., all the tiles in the patterned framework are the sameshape and size for simplicity and efficiency), the tiles may be formedin a single tessellating shape (i.e., one tile shape that when used in aplurality, can form a tessellating pattern). Tessellating shapes includetriangles, squares, hexagons and irregular pentagons. In some forms ofdeflection member 10, multiple tiles 24 form patterned framework 12 in atessellating manner, and the tiles may be formed in more than one shapeand/or size (a first shape and a second shape, and optionally a thirdshape, etc.). For instance, patterned framework 12 may be tessellatingand include tiles that are all formed square in shape, but formed inmultiple sizes (a first size and a second size). In another example,patterned framework 12 may be tessellating and may include tiles thatare formed in the shape of a square (i.e., a first shape), a hexagon(i.e., a second shape), and a triangle (i.e., a third shape). In someinstances, patterned framework 12 may be tessellating and include tilesin one or more irregular, non-geometric shapes.

Tiles 24 may be fastened to reinforcing member 14 in a tessellatingpattern in any orientation. In some forms, tiles 24 or rows of tilesthat form patterned framework 12 can be oriented in either the MD or theCD when fastened to reinforcing member 14. In other forms, tiles 24and/or rows of tiles that form patterned framework 12 can be oriented ina direction that is diagonal to either the MD or the CD when fastened toreinforcing member 14. In such forms with diagonally oriented tiles 24or rows of tiles, when deflection member 10 travels around deflectionpoints in a conveyor system, a peak or corner of the tile first deflects(in lieu of a side of the tile first hitting the deflection point), thenfollowed by deflection of the rest of the tile, thus limiting theinitial stress caused to the tile points of fastening to reinforcingmember 14.

Tiles 24 may be made from a single material, a variety of materials orcombination of materials, the particular material(s) determined by thedesired structural properties of the deflection member, such as strengthand flexibility required for the fibrous structure making process,including deflection when operating on the conveyor system. Tiles 24 canbe molded, such as by injection molding, and can be made of polymericmaterial including thermoplastic and thermoset materials. Tiles 24 canalso be manufactured by additive manufacturing, and the choice ofmaterials is determined by the additive manufacturing technology used toform it. Tiles 24 may each be manufactured as a single, complete unit(e.g., unitary 3-D printed tiles), or in some forms may be manufacturedfrom multiple parts, such as 3-D printed portions that are printed ontopreviously manufactured portions. In some forms of deflection member 10,tile 24 is manufactured by 3-D printing a material, such as resin, ontoa separate base material, i.e., an intermediate layer such as a premadesection of woven fibers, with the combination of the intermediate layerand the printed material forming the tile as detailed herein. In suchforms, the intermediate layer of tile 24 may then be utilized to fastenthe tile to reinforcing member 14 through any of the methods detailedherein. This multi-part form of tile 24 allows for tile(s) with adiscrete knuckle pattern (for example, as detailed in US PatentPublication No. 2015/0247291, published Sep. 3, 2015 in the name ofMaladen et al.) to be fastened to reinforcing member 14 as detailedherein.

In some forms, tiles 24 can be made from metal, metal-impregnated resin,silica glass beads, polymer resin, plastic, crosslinked polymer,photopolymer, fluoropolymers, UV curable polymer, photosensitivepolyurethane, rubber, thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers,thermoset resins, silicone or any combination thereof. Additional and/orspecific materials that are also considered herein for construction oftile 24 include materials disclosed in US Patent Publication Nos.2017/096,547; 2016/0340,506; 2016/009,0693; 2017/005,1455;2016/0185,050; 2007/0170,610; and 2005/0280,184; or disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 8,216,427, issued Jul. 10, 2012 in the name of Kierelid et al.In some forms, the resulting deflection member 10 is sufficiently strongand/or flexible to be utilized as a paper making or nonwoven makingbelt, or a portion thereof, in a batch process or in commercial papermaking or nonwoven making equipment.

Each tile 24, and therefore the patterned framework 12, has a backside20 and a web side 22. In a fibrous web making process, web side 22 isthe side of the patterned framework 12 on which fibers, such aspapermaking fibers or spunbond fibers/meltblown fibers, are deposited.As defined herein, backside 20 of patterned framework 12 forms an X-Yplane, where X and Y can correspond generally to the CD and MD,respectively, when in the context of using deflection member 10 to makepaper in a commercial papermaking process. One skilled in the art willappreciate that the symbols “X,” “Y,” and “Z” designate a system ofCartesian coordinates, wherein mutually perpendicular “X” and “Y” definea reference plane formed by backside 20 of patterned framework 12 whendisposed on a flat surface, and “Z” defines a direction perpendicular tothe X-Y plane. The person skilled in the art will appreciate that theuse of the term “plane” does not require absolute flatness or smoothnessof any portion or feature described as planar.

As used herein, the term “Z-direction” designates any directionperpendicular to the X-Y plane. Analogously, the term “Z-dimension”means a dimension, distance, or parameter measured parallel to theZ-direction and can be used to refer to dimensions such as the height ofprotuberances, or the thickness or caliper of deflection member 10. Itshould be carefully noted, however, that an element that “extends” inthe Z-direction does not need itself to be oriented strictly parallel tothe Z-direction; the term “extends in the Z-direction” in this contextmerely indicates that the element extends in a direction which is notparallel to the X-Y plane. Analogously, an element that “extends in adirection parallel to the X-Y plane” does not need, as a whole, to beparallel to the X-Y plane; such an element can be oriented in thedirection that is not parallel to the Z-direction.

One skilled in the art will also appreciate that deflection member 10 asa whole does not need to (and indeed cannot in some forms) have a planarconfiguration throughout its length, especially if sized for use in acommercial process for making a fibrous structure, and in the form of aflexible member or belt that travels through processing equipment thatcan include deflections around rollers, turning bars and the like. Theconcept of deflection member 10 being disposed on a flat surface andhaving the macroscopical “X-Y” plane is conventionally used herein forthe purpose of describing relative geometry of several elements ofdeflection member 10 which can be generally flexible. A person skilledin the art will appreciate that when deflection member 10 curves orotherwise deplanes, the X-Y plane follows the configuration of thedeflection member.

As used herein, the terms containing “macroscopical” or“macroscopically” refer to an overall geometry of a structure underconsideration when it is placed in a two-dimensional configuration. Incontrast, “microscopical” or “microscopically” refer to relatively smalldetails of the structure under consideration, without regard to itsoverall geometry. For example, in the context of deflection member 10,the term “macroscopically planar” means that the deflection member, whenit is placed in a two-dimensional configuration, has—as a whole—onlyminor deviations from absolute planarity, and the deviations do notadversely affect the deflection member's performance. At the same time,patterned framework 12 of deflection member 10 can have a microscopicalthree-dimensional pattern of deflection conduits and protuberances, aswill be described below.

There are virtually an infinite number of shapes, sizes, spacing andorientations that may be chosen for protuberances 18 and voids thatdefine the deflection conduits 16. The actual shapes, sizes,orientations, and spacing can be specified and manufactured by additivemanufacturing processes based on the desired design of the end product.Some exemplary protuberances 18 and/or voids for forms of deflectionmember 10 disclosed herein are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,623, issuedApr. 20, 1999 to Trokhan et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,948,210, issued Sep. 7,1999 to Huston; U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,122, issued May 4, 1999 to Huston;U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,965, issued Apr. 13, 1999 to Trokhan et al.; U.S.Pat. No. 5,906,710, issued May 25, 1999 to Trokhan; U.S. Pat. No.6,171,447, issued Jan. 9, 2001 to Trokhan; U.S. Pat. No. 6,358,030,issued Mar. 20, 2002 to Ampulski.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,576,091, issued Jun.10, 2003 to Cabell et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,859, issued Jul. 5, 2005to Hill et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,743,571, issued Jun. 1, 2004 to Hill etal.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,914,649, issued Mar. 29, 2011 to Ostendorf et al.;U.S. Pat. No. 6,660,362, issued Dec. 9, 2003 to Lindsay et al.; and U.S.Pat. No. 6,610,173, issued Aug. 26, 2003 to Lindsay et al.

FIG. 3 depicts a representative example of a plurality of tiles 24fastened to reinforcing member 14 in a tessellating pattern with littleor no gap between adjacent tiles to form a patterned framework 12. Informs of deflection member 10 that include patterned framework 12 withno gap between adjacent tiles 24, at least one perimeter edge of everytile contacts at least one perimeter edge of another tile in thepatterned framework. In some forms in which a gap exists betweenadjacent tiles 24, the gap may be less than about 5 mm, less than about4 mm, less than about 3 mm, less than about 2 mm, less than about 1 mm,less than about 0.75 mm, less than about 0.5 mm, less than about 0.25mm, less than about 0.1 mm, less than about 0.05 mm, less than about0.03 mm, or less than about 0.01 mm. For additional clarity, any gapsshown in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Tiles 24 inFIG. 3 can be fastened to reinforcing member 14 by any method detailedherein, but the particular fasteners are not shown for simplicity andclarity in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, adjacent tiles 24 may haveidentically sized, shaped and spaced openings of deflection conduits 16defined by identically sized and spaced voids and protuberances, asdepicted in tiles 24A and 24B. Adjacent tiles may also have differentlysized, shaped, and/or spaced openings of deflection conduits 16 definedby voids and protuberances 18, as depicted by adjacent tiles 24A and24C. Tiles 24 may have only voids defining deflection conduits 16, asdepicted in tile 24D, and the voids in any given tile need not be thesame size or shape. In some forms of patterned framework 12, certaintiles 24 may have only protuberances 18, as depicted in tile 24E. Ingeneral, each tile 24 can be identical to adjacent tiles, or adjacenttiles can be different. In this manner, a patterned framework 12 can betailored for specific shapes of deflection conduits and air permeabilityacross the area of deflection member 10. In some forms of deflectionmember 10, the patterned framework 12 may include one or more individualtiles 24 (or groupings of tiles) that include deflection conduit(s) 16and/or protuberance(s) 18 that are arranged in a pattern to provide aproduct identifier, product name or logo on the produced fibrousstructures.

In some forms, deflection conduits 16 and/or protuberances 18 can be inwhole or in part defined by the edge characteristics of two or moreadjacent tiles. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, in which reinforcingmember 10 and fastening elements 26 are not shown for clarity, edges oftiles 24 can have features that define a void of a deflection conduit 16(i.e., a first deflection conduit) that when paired with an adjacenttile 24 which can have a correspondingly identical edge feature (i.e., asecond deflection conduit), form a combined deflection conduit, or not.In some forms, these combined deflection conduits formed by thecombination of deflection conduits on multiple adjacent tiles are thesame, or very similar, to other deflection conduits 16 (as describedherein) formed within a single tile. Thus, when tiled in a pattern thatcan be a tessellating pattern, deflection conduits 16 can be defined bythe combination of edge effects of adjacent tiles. In the formillustrated in FIG. 4, the pair of adjacent tiles each have a portion ofa deflection conduit in the shape of a half circle at the tile edge,thus when put together and lined up, the adjacent tiles form an entiredeflection conduit 16 in the shape of a circle.

As another example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in which reinforcingmember 10 and fastening elements 26 are not shown for clarity, edges oftiles 24 can have features that define a protuberance 18 (i.e., a firstprotuberance) that when paired with an adjacent tile 24 which can have acorrespondingly identical edge feature (i.e., a second protuberance),form a combined protuberance, or not. In some forms, these combinedprotuberances formed by the combination of protuberances on multipleadjacent tiles are the same, or very similar, to other protuberances 16(as described herein) formed upon a single tile. Thus, when tiled in apattern that can be a tessellating pattern, protuberances 18 can bedefined by the combination of edge effects of adjacent tiles. In theform illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pair of adjacent tiles each havea portion of a protuberance in the shape of a half circle at the tileedge, thus when put together and lined up, the adjacent tiles form anentire protuberance 18 in the shape of a circle. In some forms ofdeflection conduit 10 tiled in a pattern that can be a tessellatingpattern, both deflection conduits 16 and protuberances 18 can be definedby the combination of edge effects of adjacent tiles.

Tile 24 can have a specific resulting open area R. As used herein, theterm “specific resulting open area” (R) means a ratio of a cumulativeprojected open area (ΣR) of all deflection conduits 16 of a given unitof the deflection member's surface area (A) to that given surface area(A) of this unit, i.e., R=ΣR/A, wherein the projected open area of eachindividual conduit is formed by a smallest projected open area of such aconduit as measured in a plane parallel to the X-Y plane. The specificopen area can be expressed as a fraction or as a percentage. Forexample, if a hypothetical layer has two thousand individual deflectionconduits dispersed throughout a unit surface area (A) of thirty-thousandsquare millimeters, and each deflection conduit has the projected openarea of five square millimeters, the cumulative projected open area (ΣR)of all two thousand deflection conduits is ten thousand squaremillimeters, (5 sq. mm×2.000=10,000 sq. mm), and the specific resultingopen area of such a hypothetical layer is R=⅓, or 33.33% (ten thousandsquare millimeters divided by thirty thousand square millimeters).

The cumulative projected open area of each individual conduit ismeasured based on its smallest projected open area parallel to the X-Yplane, because some deflection conduits may be non-uniform throughouttheir length, or thickness of the deflection member. For example, somedeflection conduits may be tapered as described in commonly assignedU.S. Pat. No. 5,900,122 issued May 4, 1999 in the name of Huston; andU.S. Pat. No. 5,948,210 issued Sep. 7, 1999 in the name of Huston. Inother forms of the deflection member disclosed herein, the smallest openarea of the individual conduit may be located intermediate the topsurface and the bottom surface of the deflection member.

The specific resulting open area of the deflection member can be atleast about ⅕ (or 20%), or at least about ⅖ (or 40%), or at least about⅗ (or 60%) or at least about ⅘ (or 80%) or at least about 9/10 (or 90%),or at least about 19/20 (or 95%), or from about 35% to about 98%.According to the present invention, the first specific resulting openarea R1 may be greater than, substantially equal to, or less than thesecond resulting open area R2.

Process for Making Deflection Member:

Tile 24, as shown in FIG. 7, was made by a 3-D printer utilized as theadditive manufacturing making apparatus, specifically an Objet 30Prime®, available from Stratasys Corp.®, Eden Prairie, Minn., USA. Otheralternative methods of additive manufacturing include, but are notlimited to, selective laser sintering (SLS) and direct metal lasersintering for powder bed fusion; continuous liquid interface production(CLIP) and stereolithography (SLA) for vat photo-polymerization; filmtransfer imaging (FTI); Polyjet, Objet, Connex, Multijet, Projet orDirect Write for material jetting; ProMetal/XOne, Voxeljet, ZCorp forbinder jetting; laser engineered net shaping (LENS) for directed energydeposition; ultrasonic consolidation (UC) or Fabrisonic for sheetlamination; or fused deposition modeling (FDM, as marketed by StratasysCorp., Eden Prairie, Minn.), also known as fused filament fabrication(FFF) or plastic jet printing (PJP, as marketed by 3D Systems, RockHill, S.C.); or hybrid approaches such as Syringe Delivery System (SDS)using material extrusion and thermal- or light-induced polymerization;or any other known additive manufacturing process.

Tile 24, as shown in FIG. 7, was made from an ultraviolet (UV) lightcurable photopolymer from Stratasys Corp.®—Endur RGD450 and accompanyingsupport material SUP705. The tile was created by rendering 2-D sketchesof each repeat element in SolidWorks 2014×64 SP4.0. In this case, tworepeat elements are used in the tile, one parallel to the x-axis and asecond parallel to the y-axis—0.3 mm in either the respective x- ory-directions and each 0.56 mm in the z-direction. The 2-D images wererendered as 3-D by using the Boss Extrude feature to a length of 124 mm.The 3-D repeat element parallel to the x-axis was repeated in they-direction and spaced equally by 1.3 mm to enable 96 elements in adistance of 124 mm. The 3-D repeat element parallel to the y-axis wasrepeated in the x-direction and spaced equally to enable 96 elements ina distance of 124 mm. Mate surfaces were defined such that the topsurfaces of each 3-D repeat element were at the same elevation. Theassembly was saved as binary standard tessellation language (STL) fileand printed using an Objet 30 Prime 3-D printer. The STL file wasprepared for printing by opening in Objet Studio and oriented on thevirtual build platform. Objet Studio sliced the parts prior to printingon the build platform. Print duration ranged from 52 to 64 secondsconsuming 22 g of model material and 81 g of support material. Afterprinting, the solid part was removed from the actual build platformusing a spatula. Support material was washed away using a high pressurewashing system (model OBJ-03US). The tile was dried of residual water atambient conditions. As further detailed below, the tile was stitchedonto a woven filament reinforcing member along each edge and in a mannerto bisect the width and length.

Tile Fastening to Reinforcing Member:

The fastening element 26 used to join tiles 24 to reinforcing member 14can be made from any material sufficiently flexible and strong enough toensure that the tiles do not become unjoined from the reinforcing memberduring the production process for a fibrous web. The type and/or sourcematerial(s) of fastening element 26 can be selected to withstandprocessing requirements, including pressure and temperature extremesassociated with nonwoven and papermaking processes. Each of thefollowing detailed types of fastening, and any of the variouscombinations thereof, may be used to fasten tile 24 (or patternedframework 12 comprising one or more tiles) to reinforcing member 14.

Stitching:

In one form of deflection member 10, tile 24 can be fastened toreinforcing member 14 by stitching and/or tying the tile onto thereinforcing member. When fastening is attained by stitching, fasteningelement 26 can be a thread made of natural and/or synthetic fiber(s)including, but not limited to, cotton, hair, silk; metallic fiber(s);carbon fiber(s); silicon carbide fiber(s); fiberglass; mineral fiber(s);and polymer fiber(s) including PET or PBT polyester, phenol-formaldehyde(PF); polyvinyl chloride fiber (PVC); polyolefins (PP and PE); acrylicpolyesters; aromatic polyamids (aramids) such as Twaron, Kevlar andNomex; polyethylene (PE), including with extremely long chains/HMPE(e.g. Dyneema or Spectra); polyether ether ketone (“PEEK”);polyphenylene sulfide (“PPS”); and elastomers. Fastening element 26 mayalso be coated to reduce or prevent water intrusion and/or to give thefastening element greater flame retardancy. In one form of deflectionmember 10, reinforcing member 14 is constructed of woven filaments, andthe thread used to stitch tile 24 to the reinforcing member is the sametype of filament that is used to construct the reinforcing member 14.

As seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 8, thread openings 28 on tile 24, which can bepre-formed holes, permit fastening element 26 to be stitched through andonto reinforcing member 14. In general, however, it is not necessarythat thread openings 28 exist prior to a stitching process; threadopenings 28 can be formed during the stitching process. Accordingly, inanother form of deflection member 10, no holes are provided on tile 24,but stitching is achieved by piercing a hole in tile 24 during thestitching operation. Stitching can be accomplished with needle andthread and can be achieved by hand or by sewing machine by methods knownin the art. In some forms, the sewing may be controlled by machinevision to enable utilization of thread openings 28. In some forms, achannel may exist in an area of tile 24 where stitching is to belocated. Such channel may or may not contain preformed holes 28. Thechannel allows the thread of the stitches to sit even with, or below theweb side surface 22 of tile 24, keeping the stitches from wearingprematurely in the nonwoven or papermaking process and/or minimizing theappearance of the stitches in the nonwoven and paper products producedon deflection member 10.

When stitching tile 24 to reinforcing member 14 through utilization of aneedle, fastening element 26 is threaded through thread opening 28 inthe tile (or the needle pierces a hole if there is no pre-existingthread opening), and then threaded through an opening in reinforcingmember 14 (or the needle pierces a hole if there is no pre-existingopening at that location in the reinforcing member). Fastening element26 is then pulled partially through the openings in the tile andreinforcing member. The fastening element 26 is then threaded through anadjacent opening in reinforcing member 14 (or the needle pierces anadjacent hole if there is no pre-existing opening at that location inthe reinforcing member), and then threaded through an adjacent threadopening 28 in the tile (or the needle pierces a hole if there is noadjacent pre-existing thread opening). Each time these steps areperformed, the process will result in a stitch. This process may becontinued by hand or sewing machine until tile 24 is fastened toreinforcing member 14 in a desirable manner for a particular applicationof deflection member 10. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, this processmay be continued to create a deflection member 10 with a row of stitchesaround the perimeter of tile 24. In some forms, the stitches may also bedisposed inside of the outer perimeter of tile 24. In some forms, thestitching process is not continuous, and fastening is achieved byunitizing stitches of thread (or a loop of thread with a knot) in one ormore discrete locations.

The fastening of tiles 24 to a reinforcing member 14 can be achieved bystitching in various ways. In addition to stitching by tying or sewingwith thread or filaments around the perimeter of each tile, as shown inFIG. 1, joining can be achieved by stitching adjacent tiles 24 acrosstheir mutual boundary, as shown in FIG. 8, which illustrates threads 26joining adjacent tiles 24H, 24I and 24J through thread openings 28 alongrepresentative adjoining sides to each other and/or reinforcing member14 below. Of course, the joining can be to all adjacent sides, but onlythree are shown in FIG. 8 for simplicity and clarity. As with thegeneral disclosure above, it is not necessary that thread openings 28exist as holes prior to a stitching process; the thread openings can beformed during the stitching process.

Likewise, as shown in FIG. 8, stitching can be achieved to formdeflection member 10 by stitching rows of fastening element 26 threadsacross web side surface 22 of tiles 24 without regard for tile shape, asshown partially covering tiles 24F, 24G, and 24I. Rows of stitching canbe spaced and oriented with respect to the MD and CD appropriately,depending on the size and shape of tiles and the open area ofreinforcing member 14 so that sufficient joining is achieved dependingon the requirements of the fibrous structure making process. The rowscan be parallel or non-parallel, and they can be curvilinear orstraight. The rows may be oriented in the X-direction, the Y-direction,or between the X and Y directions, for example, on a diagonal to eitherthe X-direction or the Y-direction. Rows of stitching may also beoriented in multiple directions, and may fail to intersect with oneanother in, for example, a zig-zag pattern, or may intersect with eachother in, for example, a cross-hatching pattern.

As a variant to the form shown in FIG. 8, in which stitching is shown asbeing accomplished on web side surface 22 of the deflection member 10(i.e., first point of entry of needle/thread is through the web sidesurface of deflection member), stitching can also be accomplished fromback side 20 of the deflection member 10, as shown in FIG. 9 (i.e.,first point of entry of needle/thread is through the back side ofdeflection member). As with the general description of stitching in rowsas shown in FIG. 8, the stitching on back side 20, as shown in FIG. 9,can be in rows that are parallel or non-parallel, straight, orcurvilinear, the rows being appropriately spaced to adequately jointiles 24 to reinforcing member 14 for their intended purpose. The rowsmay be oriented in the X-direction, the Y-direction, or between the Xand Y directions, for example, on a diagonal to either the X-directionor the Y-direction. Rows of stitching may also be oriented in multipledirections, and may fail to intersect with one another in, for example,a zig-zag pattern, or may intersect with each other in, for example, across-hatching pattern.

In another form of deflection member 10 detailed herein, tiles 24 can bepre joined together to make a multi-tile grouping (e.g., patternedframework 12) prior to being stitched onto reinforcing member 14. Forexample, tiles 24 can be joined with stitching across their mutualboundary, as shown in FIG. 8, but in the absence of a reinforcingmember, and then stitched as a multi-tile grouping to reinforcing member14, for example, with rows of stitching across the patterned frameworklike shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. As another example, tiles 24 can be joinedwith stitching across their mutual boundary, as shown in FIG. 8, but inthe absence of a reinforcing member, and then stitched as a multi-tilegrouping to reinforcing member 14, for example, with rows of stitchingalong the perimeter of the overall patterned framework like shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. As another example, tiles 24 can be joined with stitchingacross their mutual boundary, as shown in FIG. 8, but in the absence ofa reinforcing member, and then stitched as a multi-tile grouping toreinforcing member 14, for example, with rows of stitching both acrossthe patterned framework like shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and along theperimeter of the overall patterned framework like shown in FIGS. 1 and2. In this manner, relatively large areas of tiles 24 can be preparedahead of time, and stitched into place on reinforcing member 14 withoutthe risk of adjacent tiles moving and being stitched in a misplacedposition.

FIG. 7 is a photograph of a tile 24 stitched with fastening element 26to reinforcing member 14, which is a woven papermaking fabric. Tile 24was made by an additive manufacturing process in a simple grid patternof generally square deflection conduits 16, and stitched onto apapermaking fabric comprising a weave of polymer filaments. Thestitching was accomplished by use of a sewing machine with cotton threadfrom web side surface 22 of deflection member 10. Deflection member 10could have a larger patterned framework by stitching more tiles 24 ontoreinforcing member 14 such that more of the area of the reinforcingmember 14 is covered by tiles 24 up to and including a point where theentire area of the reinforcing member is covered in tiles. In such aform, the tiles of the larger patterned framework could be firstfastened to each other as detailed above, and then fastened toreinforcing member 14 as a group, or the tiles of the larger patternedframework could be fastened to reinforcing member 14 individually.

In some forms, the detail of the stitching thread that is used to fastentile 24 to reinforcing member 14 may be visible on the fibrous paperproducts/nonwoven products produced on deflection member 10.

Riveting

In another form of deflection member 10, tile 24 can be fastened toreinforcing member 14 by riveting the tile onto the reinforcing member.When fastening is attained by riveting, fastening element 26A can be arivet made from metal, ferrous materials, metal-impregnated resins,ferrous-impregnated resins, plastics, crosslinked polymers,thermoplastics, metal-impregnated thermoplastics, ferrous-impregnatedthermoplastics, amorphous thermoplastics, semi-crystallinethermoplastics, crystalline thermoplastics, thermosets, photopolymers,UV curable resins, and combinations thereof. In some forms, rivets 26Acan be coated to prevent corrosion, hydrolysis and/or degradation. Inone form, rivets 26A that contain ferrous materials may be coated toinhibit corrosion (e.g., rust) in a water intensive papermaking process.

Tile 24 and rivets 26A may be made of the same material, partially fromthe same material, or from wholly different materials. Further, thematerial making up rivets 26A on tile 24 may differ from tile to tile inpatterned framework 12. In other forms of deflection member 10 disclosedherein, the material making up rivets 26A may be the same, or at leastpartially the same, from tile to tile in patterned framework 12.

As illustrated in FIGS. 10-12, rivets 26A are disposed on backside 20 oftile 24. If the tile is additively manufactured in a process such as 3-Dprinting, the rivets can be printed onto the backside of the tile. FIG.10 illustrates the top side of tile 24, and rivets 26A are on thebackside of the tile, and therefore not shown. FIG. 11 illustrates across sectional view of FIG. 10, the view taken through line 11-11. Inthis figure, rivets 26A are visible on backside 20 of tile 24. Asfurther detailed below, during the fastening process, energy is appliedto rivets 26A, softening the material of the rivet and allowing thematerial of the rivet to be pressed through the holes of reinforcingmember 14 and/or flow around the filaments of the reinforcing member(when applicable in forms of deflection member 10 that include a wovenfilament reinforcing member). The pressing of the softened rivet throughreinforcing member 14 will deform the original shape of the rivet,forcing the softened material of the rivet through the holes in thereinforcing member. FIG. 12 illustrates tile 24 and reinforcing member14 after the softened rivets of the tile have been pressed into theholes of the reinforcing member. When the energy dissipates from rivet26A, the material of the rivet cools and stiffens in a new deformedshape through and around reinforcing member 14 holes, thus fasteningtile 24 to the reinforcing member. When rivet 26A is pressed intoreinforcing member 14, the material of the rivet may only partiallypenetrate the thickness of the reinforcing member, or may fullypenetrate the thickness of the reinforcing member, as illustrated inFIG. 12.

In one non-limiting form of deflection member 10, as illustrated inFIGS. 10-12, reinforcing member 14 is made of woven filaments 8, andtile 24 is riveted onto the reinforcing member by the softened materialof rivets 26A being pressed through the holes in the weave of thereinforcing member. Accordingly, the softened material of rivets 26A isdeformed to be pressed through the holes and around woven filaments 8,thus fastening tile 24 to reinforcing member 14 as the material of therivets cools and stiffens. In alternate forms, wherein the reinforcingmember takes the form of a perforated polymer film or a perforatedmetallic sheet, the softened material of the rivets may be pressedthrough the holes of reinforcing member.

Rivets 26A can be in any size and or shape that is desirable to supportthe fastening of tile 24 to reinforcing member 14 in a particularapplication. In the form of deflection member 10 that is illustrated inFIGS. 10-12, rivets 26A are shaped as rectangular prisms, and are tallenough in the Z-direction (i.e., height of the rivet) to allow thematerial of the rivet to penetrate the weave of reinforcing member 14.However, other rivet sizes and shapes are also within the scope of thisdisclosure. For example, in some forms of deflection member 10, rivetsmay be shaped as cubes, spheres, cylinders, pyramids, pentagonal prisms,hexagonal prisms, heptagonal prisms, octagonal prisms, other variousprisms, and combinations thereof. In some forms of deflection member 10,rivets 26A may have a height of about 3 mils to about 100 mils, or about5 mils to about 50 mils, or about 10 mils to about 40 mils, or about 15mils to about 30 mils, or about 20 mils to about 25 mils.

Rivets 26A may be disposed on backside 20 of tile 24 in any regularpattern or irregular orientation. If rivets 26A are disposed in rows onthe backside of the tile, the rows of rivets can be spaced and orientedwith respect to the MD and CD appropriately, depending on the size andshape and open area of tiles, and the open area of the reinforcingmember 14, so that sufficient joining is achieved depending on therequirements of the fibrous structure making process. The rows can beparallel or non-parallel, and they can be curvilinear or straight. Therows may be oriented in the X-direction, the Y-direction, or between theX and Y directions, for example, on a diagonal to either the X-directionor the Y-direction. Rows of rivets may also be oriented in multipledirections, and may fail to intersect with one another in, for example,a zig-zag pattern, or may intersect with each other in, for example, across-hatching pattern.

The application of energy to soften rivets 26A before/during thefastening process may be by any method known in the art. Non-limitingexamples include infrared heating, hot air heating, steam heating,conduction heating, induction heating, and/or combinations thereof. Inone form of applying energy to rivets 26A, infrared or hot air heatingmay be applied to the rivets. If such fastening method is performed in aline process where reinforcing member 14 is located between the infraredor hot air source and the rivets, the energy may travel through theholes in the reinforcing member. Further, if applying infrared or hotair heating, it may be preferable that the rivets are made of adifferent material than the material that makes up tile 24. If rivets26A are made of a material that has a lower melting temperature than thematerial that makes up tile 24, the rivets will be capable of beingsoftened while still maintaining the integrity of the tile for thepressing step detailed below. In another form of applying energy torivets 26A, induction heating may be applied to the rivets. In suchprocess that includes induction heating, the rivets must contain aferrous material such as an alloy steel, carbon steel, cast iron,wrought iron, etc. For example, in some forms of deflection member 10,the tile may be made of a UV curable material, and the rivets disposedon backside 20 of the tile may be made of a plastic infused with ferrousparticles. If such method is performed in a line process, the inductionheating source may be located either above or below the line, asinduction heating will create eddy currents that pass through thenon-ferrous materials and preferentially heat the ferrous materials.Accordingly, the induction heating source will heat up the ferrousmaterials within rivets 26A and soften the other surrounding materials(thermoplastic material, etc.) in the rivets that are in close proximityto the ferrous materials.

After rivets 26A have been softened, tile 24 and reinforcing member 14may be pressed together, thus forcing the softened material of therivets to deform through the holes of the reinforcing member. Tile 24and reinforcing member 14 may be pressed together in any type ofpressing method/apparatus known in the art. As anon-limiting example,tile 24 and reinforcing member 14 may be pressed together in a lineprocess in between rollers. After pressing, tile 24 (or many tiles in apatterned framework as detailed above) and reinforcing member 14 willform a laminate material, as illustrated in FIG. 12.

In some forms of deflection member 10, rivets 26A may be provided in aform of liquid material that is applied through tile 24 and intoreinforcing member 14. The liquid materials that may be used in thisprocess may be plastics, crosslinked polymers, thermoplastics, amorphousthermoplastics, semi-crystalline thermoplastics, crystallinethermoplastics, thermosets, photopolymers, UV curable resins, andcombinations thereof. The process may be performed with a similarprocess as described in US Patent Publication Nos. 2007/170,610published on Jul. 26, 2007 in the name of Payne et al.; and 2005/280,184published on Dec. 22, 2005 in the name of Sayers et al.

Adhesive and/or Solvent Welding

In another form of deflection member 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 13-15,tile 24 can be fastened to reinforcing member 14 by utilizing adhesiveto adhere the tile onto the reinforcing member. When fastening withadhesive, fastening element 26B can be an adhesive selected from thegroup comprising air activated adhesives, light activated adhesives,heat activated adhesives, moisture activated adhesives, and combinationsthereof. Possible adhesives include, but are not limited to, adhesivesthat have low (about 1 to 100 cP at room temperature), medium (101 to10000 cP at room temperature) and high viscosity (10001 to about 1000000cP at room temperature) and may exhibit Newtonian or non-Newtonianbehavior when deformed prior to curing and may exist as a liquid, gel,paste; epoxies, nonamine epoxy, anhydride-cured epoxy, amine-curedepoxy, high temperature epoxies, modified epoxies, filled epoxies,aluminum filled epoxy, rubber modified epoxies, vinyl epoxies, nitrileepoxy, single and multipart epoxies, phenolics, nitrile phenolics,nitrile phenolic elastomer, nitrile adhesives, modified phenolics,epoxy-phenolics, neoprene phenolics, neoprene phenolic elastomer, secondgeneration acrylics, cyanoacrylates, silicone rubbers, vinyl plastisols,single and multipart polyurethanes, PBI and PI (polyimide) adhesives,acetylenic modified PI, perfluoro-alkylene modified PI, aromatic PI,perfluoro-alkylene modified aromatic PI, epoxy-nylon, polyamides,vinyl-phenolic, polyisocyanates, melamines, melamine formaldehyde,neoprenes, acrylics, modified acrylics, natural rubber (latex),chlorinated natural rubber, reclaimed rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber(SBR), carboxylated styrene butadiene copolymer, styrene butadiene,butadiene-acrylonitrile sulfide, silicone rubber, bitumen, solublesilicates, polyphenylquinoxaline, (solvent adhesive) hexafluoroacetonesesquihydrate (structural adhesive) thermosets: epoxy, polyester withisocyanate curing, styrene-unsaturated polyester, unsaturatedpolyesters, polyester-polyisocyanates, cyanoacrylate (non-structuraladhesive) one component: thermoplastic resins, rubbers, syntheticrubber, phenolic resin and/or elastomers dispersed in solvents; roomtemperature curing based on thermoplastic resins, rubbers, syntheticrubber, SBR (styrene phenolic resin and/or elastomers dispersed insolvents; elastomeric adhesives, neoprene (polychloroprene) rubber,rubber based adhesives, resorcinol, ethylene vinyl acetate,polyurethane, polyurethane elastomer, polyurethane rubber (bodiedsolvent cements) epoxies, urethanes, second generation acrylics, vinyls,nitrile-phenolics, solvent type nitrile-phenolic, cyanoacrylates,Polyvinyl acetate, polyacrylate (carboxylic), phenoxy,resorcinol-formaldehyde, urea-formaldehyde, Polyisobutylene rubber,polyisobutyl rubber, polyisobutylene, butyl rubber, nitrile rubber,nitrile rubber phenolic, modified acrylics, cellulose nitrate insolution (household cement), synthetic rubber, thermoplastic resincombined with thermosetting resin, Nylon-phenolic, vulcanizingsilicones, room-temperature vulcanizing silicones, hot melts, polyamidehot melts, Epoxy-polyamide, polyamide, epoxy-polysulfide, polysulfides,silicone sealant, silicone elastomers, Anaerobic adhesive, vinylacetate/vinyl chloride solution adhesives, PMMA, pressure sensitiveadhesives, polyphenylene sulfide, Phenolic polyvinyl butyral, furans,furane, phenol-formaldehyde, polyvinyl formal-phenolic, polyvinylbutyral, butadiene nitrile rubber, resorcinol-polyvinyl butyral,urethane elastomers, PVC, polycarbonate copolymer, polycarbonatecopolymer with resorcinol, siloxane and/or bisphenol-A, and Flexibleepoxy-polyamides. Other possible adhesives include natural adhesivessuch as casein, natural rubber, latex and gels from fish skins, andadhesives that provide temporary adhesion such as water soluble glues(e.g., Elmer's® glue and Elmer's® glue stick). Such temporary adhesionadhesives may be useful in fastening combinations as detailed below.

Adhesive 26B (in one or more layers and/or patterns) can be applied toeither backside 20 of tile 24, or to reinforcing member 14, or to boththe backside of the tile and the reinforcing member, or as a separateelement between the tile and the reinforcing member. In one form ofdeflection member 10, as illustrated in FIG. 14, adhesive 26B is onlyapplied to tile 24. In another form of deflection member 10, adhesive isonly applied to reinforcing member (in forms where reinforcing member 14is a woven sheet, adhesive may flow around filaments 8 and into theholes of the weave). Total adhesive 26B can be applied in a thickness ofabout 1 micron to about 2500 microns, or about 1 micron to about 1000microns, or about 1 micron to about 500 microns, or about 1 micron toabout 300 microns, or about 150 microns to about 500 microns, or about150 microns to about 300 microns.

Adhesive 26B can be applied over the entire tile and/or the reinforcingmember, or substantially the entire tile and/or reinforcing member, orin any regular pattern or irregular orientation that will provide thedesired adhesion between tile 24 and reinforcing member 14 that willsurvive the temperatures, pressures, and forces applied deflectionmember 10 during the papermaking process. If adhesive 26B is disposed ina striped pattern on the backside 20 of tile 24, the stripes can bespaced and oriented with respect to the MD and CD appropriately,depending on the size and shape and open space of the tiles, and theopen area of reinforcing member 14, so that sufficient joining isachieved depending on the requirements of the fibrous structure makingprocess. The stripes can be parallel or non-parallel, and they can becurvilinear or straight. The stripes may be oriented in the X-direction,the Y-direction, or between the X and Y directions, for example, on adiagonal to either the X-direction or the Y-direction. Stripes ofadhesive may also be oriented in multiple directions, and may fail tointersect with one another in, for example, a zig-zag pattern, or mayintersect with each other in, for example, a cross-hatching pattern.Other exemplary adhesive patterns may include discontinuous dots, acheckerboard pattern, and patterns that are controlled to match surfacecontact points between reinforcing structure 14 and the bottom of tile24. Other exemplary adhesive patterns may include discrete shapes (e.g.,circles, ovals, polygons, etc.) placed down in orthogonal, sinusoidalregular or irregular patterns. Patterns of adhesive may be applied totile 24 and/or reinforcing member 14 through the utilization of slotcoaters, gravure rolls, kiss coating rolls, spray coaters, plasmacoaters, brushes, wipers, wipes, dispensing assemblies, dipping, dippingwith pneumatic removal of excess, dipping with solvent removal ofexcess, dipping with vacuum removal of excess, capillary applications,etc.

Tile 24 and reinforcing member 14 may also be fastened together througha solvent welding process. Particular solvents that may be used in thesolvent welding process include isopropyl alcohol, dichloromethane,dichloromethane-tetrahydrofuran, acetone, cyclohexanone, N,N-Dimethylformamide, ethyl acetate, dichloroethane, glacial acetic acid, methylethyl ketone, 2-methoxy ethanol, N-methyl pyrrolidone, O-dichlorobenzol,tetrachloroethylene, tetrahydrofuran, toluene, xylene; formic acid,phenol, resorcinol or cresol in aqueous or alcoholic solutions; andcalcium chloride in alcoholic solutions. Other welding processes couldalso be utilized including, but not limited to, thermal welding,ultrasonic welding, and laser welding, as detailed in U.S. PublicationNo. 2016/009,0693.

Solvent can be applied to either backside 20 of tile 24, or toreinforcing member 14, or to both the backside of the tile and thereinforcing member. Solvent can be applied over the entire tile and/orthe reinforcing member, or substantially the entire tile and/orreinforcing member, or in any regular pattern or irregular orientationthat will provide good adhesion between tile 24 and reinforcing member14 that will survive the temperatures, pressures, and forces applied todeflection member 10 during the papermaking process. If solvent isdisposed in a striped pattern on the backside 20 of tile 24, the stripescan be spaced and oriented with respect to the MD and CD appropriately,depending on the size and shape of tiles and the open area of thereinforcing member 14 so that sufficient joining is achieved dependingon the requirements of the fibrous structure making process. The stripescan be parallel or non-parallel, and they can be curvilinear orstraight. The stripes may be oriented in the X-direction, theY-direction, or between the X and Y directions, for example, on adiagonal to either the X-direction or the Y-direction. Stripes ofsolvent may also be oriented in multiple directions, and may fail tointersect with one another in, for example, a zig-zag pattern, or mayintersect with each other in, for example, a cross-hatching pattern.Other exemplary adhesive patterns may include discontinuous dots, acheckerboard pattern, and patterns that are controlled to match surfacecontact points between the reinforcing structure and the bottom of tile24. Other exemplary solvent patterns may include discrete shapes (e.g.,circles, ovals, polygons, etc.) placed down in orthogonal, sinusoidalregular or irregular patterns. Patterns of solvent may be applied totile 24 and/or reinforcing member 14 through the utilization of slotcoaters, gravure rolls, kiss coating rolls, spray coaters, plasmacoaters, brushes, wipers, wipes, dispensing assemblies, dipping, dippingwith pneumatic removal of excess, dipping with solvent removal ofexcess, dipping with vacuum removal of excess, capillary applications,etc., and combinations thereof.

After adhesive 26B and/or solvent have been applied to backside 20 oftile 24 and/or the web side of reinforcing member 14, the tile andreinforcing member may be brought in contact and/or pressed together.Tile 24 and reinforcing member 14 may be pressed together in any type ofpressing method/apparatus known in the art. As a non-limiting example,tile 24 and reinforcing member 14 may be pressed together in a lineprocess in between rollers. After pressing, tile 24 (or many tiles in apatterned framework as detailed above) and reinforcing member 14 willform a laminate material, as illustrated in FIG. 15. If the utilizedadhesive was a light activated adhesive or a heat activated adhesive, alight or heat application (as necessary) would be applied to thelaminate to cure the adhesive.

Further, before attachment of tile 24 to reinforcing member 14 withadhesive, the surface of the tile and/or the reinforcing member thatcontacts the adhesive may be pretreated. Non-limiting pretreatments mayinclude primers, corona/plasma treatments, swelling the tile and/orreinforcing member material for increased adhesion treatment, andsanding/roughening the surface to increase surface area. In somenon-limiting examples, one or both of the surfaces may be treated asdetailed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,105,465 issued Sep. 12, 2006 in the name ofPatel et al.

Resin

In another form of deflection member 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 16-18,tile 24 can be fastened to reinforcing member 14 by utilizing a resin toadhere the tile onto the reinforcing member. When fastening with resin,fastening element 26C can be a resin selected from the group comprisinglight activated resins, heat activated resins and combinations thereof.In some deflection members 10, the utilized resin may be as described inU.S. Pat. No. 4,514,345 issued Apr. 30, 1985 in the name of Johnson etal., and/or as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,598 issued Jan. 4, 2000in the name of Boutilier et al. In other deflection members 10, theutilized resin may be as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,445,831 issuedNov. 4, 2008 in the name of Ashraf et al.

Resin 26C can be applied to either backside 20 of tile 24, or toreinforcing member 14, or to both the backside of the tile and thereinforcing member, or as a separate element between the tile and thereinforcing member (as depicted in FIG. 17). In one form of deflectionmember 10, resin 26C is only applied to reinforcing member 14 (in formswhere reinforcing member 14 is a woven sheet, adhesive flows aroundfilaments 8 and into the holes of the weave). In another form ofdeflection member 10, resin 26C is only applied to the backside of thetile. Total resin 26C can be applied in a thickness of about 1 micron toabout 2500 microns, or about 1 micron to about 1000 microns, or about 1micron to about 500 microns, or about 1 micron to about 300 microns, orabout 150 microns to about 500 microns, or about 150 microns to about300 microns.

Resin 26C can be applied over the entire tile and/or the reinforcingmember, or substantially the entire tile and/or reinforcing member, orin any regular pattern or irregular orientation that will provide thedesired adhesion between tile 24 and reinforcing member 14 that willsurvive the temperatures, pressures, and forces applied during thepapermaking process. If resin 26C is disposed in a striped pattern onthe backside 20 of tile 24, the stripes can be spaced and oriented withrespect to the MD and CD appropriately, depending on the size and shapeof tiles and the open area of the reinforcing member 14 so thatsufficient joining is achieved depending on the requirements of thefibrous structure making process. The stripes can be parallel ornon-parallel, and they can be curvilinear or straight. The stripes maybe oriented in the X-direction, the Y-direction, or between the X and Ydirections, for example, on a diagonal to either the X-direction or theY-direction. Stripes of resin may also be oriented in multipledirections, and may fail to intersect with one another in, for example,a zig-zag pattern, or may intersect with each other in, for example, across-hatching pattern. Other exemplary resin patterns may includediscontinuous dots, a checkerboard pattern, and patterns that arecontrolled to match surface contact points between the reinforcingstructure and the bottom of tile 24. Other exemplary resin patterns mayinclude discrete shapes (e.g., circles, ovals, polygons, etc.) placeddown in orthogonal, sinusoidal regular or irregular patterns. Patternsof resin may be applied to tile 24 and/or reinforcing member 14 throughthe utilization of additive manufacturing methods such as 3-D printing,slot coaters, gravure rolls, kiss coating rolls, spray coaters, plasmacoaters, brushes, wipers, wipes, dispensing assemblies, dipping, dippingwith pneumatic removal of excess, dipping with solvent removal ofexcess, dipping with vacuum removal of excess, capillary applications,etc.

After resin 26C has been applied to backside 20 of tile 24 and/or theweb side surface of reinforcing member 14, the resin may be at leastpartially cured before the tile and reinforcing member are contactedand/or pressed together (for example, by application of UV light, orheat, or whatever the requisite curing medium is for the particularresin). Tile 24 and reinforcing member 14 may be pressed together in anytype of pressing method/apparatus known in the art. As a non-limitingexample, tile 24 and reinforcing member 14 may be pressed together in aline process in between rollers. After pressing, tile 24 (or many tilesin a patterned framework as detailed above) and reinforcing member 14will form a laminate material, as illustrated in FIG. 18. In forms ofdeflection member 10 where the resin was partially cured beforepressing, the partially cured resin may then be further cured, or fullycured, in a second curing step. In forms of deflection member 10 wherethe resin was not partially cured before pressing, the uncured resin maybe partially cured, or fully cured, in a post-pressing, curing step.

In one form of deflection member 10, resin 26C is a UV light curableresin, and deposited on web side surface 22 of reinforcing member 14.After deposition, the resin is partially cured in a UV lightapplication. Tile 24 and reinforcing member 14 are then pressed in aline process to form a laminate. The partially cured resin 26C of thelaminate is then further cured in a second application of UV light.

Mechanical Fasteners

In another form of deflection member 10, tile 24 can be fastened toreinforcing member 14 by mechanically fastening the tile onto thereinforcing member. When fastening is attained by mechanical fastening,fastening element 26D can be a mechanical fastener made from metal,ferrous materials, metal-impregnated resins, ferrous-impregnated resins,plastics, crosslinked polymers, thermoplastics, metal-impregnatedthermoplastics, ferrous-impregnated thermoplastics, amorphousthermoplastics, semi-crystalline thermoplastics, crystallinethermoplastics, thermosets, photopolymers, and combinations thereof.Other forms of mechanical fastening between tile 24 and reinforcingmember 14 may also be implemented through heat fusion, ultrasonicwelding and/or laser welding. The mechanical fastening can be permanentor temporary, depending on the desired application. Forms of mechanicalfastening that may be useful in the deflection members detailed hereinare found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,616,638; 5,983,467; 6,124,015; 6,902,787;and 7,220,340; and US Publication No. 2003/0190451.

Tile 24 and mechanical fasteners 26D may be made of the same material,partially from the same material, or from wholly different materials.Further, the material making up mechanical fastener 26D on tile 24 maydiffer from tile to tile in a patterned framework 12. In other forms ofdeflection member 10 disclosed herein, the material making up mechanicalfastener 26D may be the same, or at least partially the same, from tileto tile in a patterned framework 12.

As illustrated in FIGS. 19-21, mechanical fasteners 26D are disposed onbackside 20 of tile 24. If the tile is additively manufactured in aprocess such as 3-D printing, the mechanical fasteners can be printedonto the backside of the tile. FIG. 19 illustrates the top side of tile24, and mechanical fasteners 26D are on the backside of the tile, andtherefore not shown. FIG. 20 illustrates a cross sectional view of FIG.19, the view taken through line 20-20. In this figure, mechanicalfasteners 26D are visible on backside 20 of tile 24. As further detailedbelow, during the fastening process, the mechanical fasteners 26D ontile 24 may be pressed/snapped/locked/temporarily locked into the openarea of reinforcing member 14 (e.g., between the filaments of a wovenreinforcing member).

In one non-limiting form of deflection member 10, as illustrated inFIGS. 19-21, reinforcing member 14 is made of woven filaments 8, andtile 24 is mechanically fastened onto the reinforcing member by themechanical fasteners 26D being pressed through the holes in the weave ofthe reinforcing member. The shape of the mechanical fastener 26D willfunction to hold tile 24 to reinforcing member 14. In such a form, tile24 and reinforcing member 14 may be temporarily fastened to one another,allowing the removal of the particular tile when it wears out throughextended use.

Mechanical fastener 26D can be made in any size and or shape that isdesirable to support the temporary or permanent fastening of tile 24 toreinforcing member 14 in a particular application. In the form ofdeflection member 10 that is illustrated in FIGS. 19-21 (shown in crosssection with CD filaments removed for clarity), mechanical fasteners 26Dare curved with a drawn-in waist portion, and are tall enough in theZ-direction (i.e., height of the mechanical fastener) to allow themechanical fastener to penetrate the weave of reinforcing member 14 farenough to snap into place. However, other mechanical fastener sizes andshape are also within the scope of this disclosure. For example, in someforms of deflection member 10, mechanical fasteners may be shaped ashooks (e.g., such as Velcro® type hooks), cubes, spheres, various curvedshapes, cylinders, pentagonal prisms, hexagonal prisms, heptagonalprisms, octagonal prisms, other various prisms, and combinationsthereof. In some forms of deflection member 10, mechanical fasteners 26Dmay have a height of about 3 mils to about 100 mils, or about 5 mils toabout 50 mils, or about 10 mils to about 40 mils, or about 15 mils toabout 30 mils, or about 20 mils to about 25 mils.

Mechanical fasteners 26D may be disposed on backside 20 of tile 24 inany regular pattern or irregular orientation. If mechanical fasteners26D are disposed in rows on the backside of the tile, the rows ofmechanical fasteners can be spaced and oriented with respect to the MDand CD appropriately, depending on the size and shape and open area oftiles, and the open area of the reinforcing member 14, so thatsufficient joining is achieved depending on the requirements of thefibrous structure making process. The rows can be parallel ornon-parallel, and they can be curvilinear or straight. The rows may beoriented in the X-direction, the Y-direction, or between the X and Ydirections, for example, on a diagonal to either the X-direction or theY-direction. Rows of rivets may also be oriented in multiple directions,and may fail to intersect with one another in, for example, a zig-zagpattern, or may intersect with each other in, for example, across-hatching pattern.

Tile 24 and reinforcing member 14 may be pressed together, thusforcing/snapping/locking the mechanical fasteners 26D through the holesof the reinforcing member. Tile 24 and reinforcing member 14 may bepressed together by hand or in any type of pressing method/apparatusknown in the art. As a non-limiting example, tile 24 and reinforcingmember 14 may be pressed together in a line process in between rollers.After pressing, tile 24 (or many tiles in a patterned framework asdetailed above) and reinforcing member 14 will form a laminate material,as illustrated in FIG. 21. In forms of deflection member 10 that includereversible snaps, tile 24 may be removed and reapplied to reinforcingmember 14 as desired.

Combinations

In the various forms of deflection member 10 contemplated herein, any ofthe above detailed fastening elements 26, 26A, 26B, 26C, 26D may be usedin combination. For example, in one form of deflection member 10, apatterned framework of tiles 24 is fastened to reinforcing member 14through both stitching and adhesive. In such a deflection member, thetiles are stitched to one another to form patterned framework 12 that isunitary. The unitary patterned framework is then attached to reinforcingmember 14 though the utilization of adhesive. In another form ofdeflection member 10, a patterned framework of tiles 24 is againfastened to reinforcing member 14 through both stitching and adhesive.In such a deflection member, the tile(s) are adhered to reinforcingmember 14 though the utilization of a temporary adhesive, such as awater soluble glue. The tile(s) are then stitched to reinforcing member14. Deflection member 10 may then be sprayed with water in order todissolve the water soluble glue, thus removing glue from any of the openareas within reinforcing member 14, allowing greater air permeabilitythrough deflection member 10.

In another exemplary form of deflection member 10, a patterned frameworkof tiles 24 is fastened to reinforcing member 14 through both stitchingand riveting. In such a deflection member, the tiles are stitched to oneanother to form patterned framework 12 that is unitary. The unitarypatterned framework is then attached to reinforcing member 14 though theutilization of rivets. In another exemplary form of deflection member10, a patterned framework of tiles 24 is fastened to reinforcing member14 through both stitching and resin. In such a deflection member, thetiles are stitched to one another to form patterned framework 12 that isunitary. The unitary patterned framework is then attached to reinforcingmember 14 though the utilization of resin.

Fibrous Structure:

One purpose of the deflection member 10 is to provide a forming surfaceon which to mold fibrous structures, including sanitary tissue products,such as paper towels, toilet tissue, facial tissue, wipes, dry or wetmop covers, nonwovens such as baby care and fem care topsheet materials,and the like. When used in a papermaking process, deflection member 10can be utilized in the “wet end” of a papermaking process, as describedin more detail below, in which fibers from a fibrous slurry aredeposited on web side surface 22 of deflection member 10. As discussedbelow, a portion of the fibers can be deflected into deflection conduits16 and onto protuberances 18 of deflection member 10 to cause some ofthe deflected fibers or portions thereof to be disposed within thedeflection conduits of the deflection member. Similarly, deflectionmember 10 can be used to catch fibers in a nonwoven making process.

Thus, as can be understood from the description above, fibrous structure500 can mold to the general shape of deflection member 10 such that theshape and size of the three-dimensional features of the fibrousstructure are a close approximation of the size and shape ofprotuberances 18 and deflection conduits 16. Further, in forms hereinthat include deflection member 10 having tiles 24 stitched on their webside surface 22 to reinforcing member 14, the fibrous structure 500 thatis produced will further include an imprint of the thread 26 used tofasten the tile to the reinforcing member. Thus, the produced fibrousstructure 500 will include additional structure due to the presence ofthread 26 on the web side surface 22 of tile 24, as fibers of thefibrous structure are laid down over and around the thread(s).

Process for Making Fibrous Structure:

In one form, deflection members 10 as disclosed herein may be used in anonwoven making process to capture/mold fibers in the creation of anonwoven web, the type of which is commonly used in baby and fem careproducts. Such processes use forced air and/or vacuum to draw fibersdown into deflection member 10.

In another form, deflection members 10 as disclosed herein may be usedin a papermaking process. With reference to FIG. 22, one exemplary formof the process for producing fibrous structure 500 of the presentdisclosure comprises the following steps, which could be employed tomake a fibrous structure with deflection member 10 disclosed herein.First, a plurality of fibers 501 is provided and is deposited on aforming wire of a papermaking machine, as is known in the art.

The present invention contemplates the use of a variety of fibers, suchas, for example, cellulosic fibers, synthetic fibers, or any othersuitable fibers, and any combination thereof. Papermaking fibers usefulin the present invention include cellulosic fibers commonly known aswood pulp fibers. Fibers derived from soft woods (gymnosperms orconiferous trees) and hard woods (angiosperms or deciduous trees) arecontemplated for use in this invention. The particular species of treefrom which the fibers are derived is immaterial. The hardwood andsoftwood fibers can be blended, or alternatively, can be deposited inlayers to provide a stratified web. U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,981 issued Nov.17, 1981 in the name of Carstens; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,771 issuedNov. 30, 1976 in the name of Morgan et al. are incorporated herein byreference for the purpose of disclosing layering of hardwood andsoftwood fibers.

The wood pulp fibers can be produced from the native wood by anyconvenient pulping process. Chemical processes such as sulfite, sulfate(including the Kraft) and soda processes are suitable. Mechanicalprocesses such as thermomechanical (or Asplund) processes are alsosuitable. In addition, the various semi-chemical and chemi-mechanicalprocesses can be used. Bleached as well as unbleached fibers arecontemplated for use. When the fibrous web of this invention is intendedfor use in absorbent products such as paper towels, bleached northernsoftwood Kraft pulp fibers may be used. Wood pulps useful herein includechemical pulps such as Kraft, sulfite and sulfate pulps as well asmechanical pulps including for example, ground wood, thermomechanicalpulps and Chemi-ThermoMechanical Pulp (CTMP). Pulps derived from bothdeciduous and coniferous trees can be used.

In addition to the various wood pulp fibers, other cellulosic fiberssuch as cotton linters, rayon, and bagasse can be used in thisinvention. Synthetic fibers, such as polymeric fibers, can also be used.Elastomeric polymers, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester,polyolefin, and nylon, can be used. The polymeric fibers can be producedby spunbond processes, meltblown processes, and other suitable methodsknown in the art. It is believed that thin, long, and continuous fibersproduces by spunbond and meltblown processes may be beneficially used inthe fibrous structure of the present invention, because such fibers arebelieved to be easily deflectable into the pockets of the deflectionmember of the present invention.

The paper furnish can comprise a variety of additives, including but notlimited to fiber binder materials, such as wet strength bindermaterials, dry strength binder materials, chemical softeningcompositions, latexes, bicomponent fibers with a soften-able ormelt-able outer shell, and thermoplastic fibers. Suitable wet strengthbinders include, but are not limited to, materials such aspolyamide-epichlorohydrin resins sold under the trade name of KYMENE™557H by Hercules Inc., Wilmington, Del. Suitable temporary wet strengthbinders include but are not limited to synthetic polyacrylates. Asuitable temporary wet strength binder is PAREZ™ 750 marketed byAmerican Cyanamid of Stanford, Conn. Suitable dry strength bindersinclude materials such as carboxymethyl cellulose and cationic polymerssuch as ACCO™ 711. The CYPRO/ACCO family of dry strength materials areavailable from CYTEC of Kalamazoo, Mich. Forms of fiber bonding may alsobe utilized, including, but not limited to, carding and hydroentangling.

The paper furnish can comprise a debonding agent to inhibit formation ofsome fiber to fiber bonds as the web is dried. The debonding agent, incombination with the energy provided to the web by the dry crepingprocess, results in a portion of the web being debulked. In one form,the debonding agent can be applied to fibers forming an intermediatefiber layer positioned between two or more layers. The intermediatelayer acts as a debonding layer between outer layers of fibers. Thecreping energy can therefore debulk a portion of the web along thedebonding layer. Suitable debonding agents include chemical softeningcompositions such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,767 issuedJan. 18, 1994 in the name of Phan et al., the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference Suitable biodegradable chemicalsoftening compositions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,522 issuedMay 17, 1994 in the name of Phan et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,279,767 and5,312,522, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference. Such chemical softening compositions can be used as debondingagents for inhibiting fiber to fiber bonding in one or more layers ofthe fibers making up the web. One suitable softener for providingdebonding of fibers in one or more layers of fibers forming the web is apapermaking additive comprising DiEster Di (Touch Hardened) TallowDimethyl Ammonium Chloride. A suitable softener is ADOGEN® brandpapermaking additive available from Witco Company of Greenwich, Conn.

The embryonic web can be typically prepared from an aqueous dispersionof papermaking fibers, though dispersions in liquids other than watercan be used. The fibers are dispersed in the carrier liquid to have aconsistency of from about 0.1 to about 0.3 percent. Alternatively, andwithout being limited by theory, it is believed that the presentinvention is applicable to moist forming operations where the fibers aredispersed in a carrier liquid to have a consistency less than about 50percent. In yet another alternative form, and without being limited bytheory, it is believed that the present invention is also applicable tolayered wires, structured wires, wet micro contraction, vacuumdewatering, airlaid structures, including air-laid webs comprising pulpfibers, synthetic fibers, and mixtures thereof.

Conventional papermaking fibers can be used and the aqueous dispersioncan be formed in conventional ways. Conventional papermaking equipmentand processes can be used to form the embryonic web on the Fourdrinierwire. The association of the embryonic web with the deflection membercan be accomplished by simple transfer of the web between two movingendless belts as assisted by differential fluid pressure. The fibers maybe deflected into the deflection member 10 by the application ofdifferential fluid pressure induced by an applied vacuum. Any technique,such as the use of a Yankee drum dryer, can be used to dry theintermediate web. Foreshortening can be accomplished by any conventionaltechnique such as creping.

The plurality of fibers can also be supplied in the form of a moistenedfibrous web (not shown), which should preferably be in a condition inwhich portions of the web could be effectively deflected into thedeflection conduits of the deflection member and the void spaces formedbetween the suspended portions and the X-Y plane.

The embryonic web comprising fibers 501 is transferred from a formingwire 123 to a belt 121 on which deflection member 10 as detailed hereincan be disposed by placing it on the belt 121 upstream of a vacuumpick-up shoe 148 a. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality offibers, or fibrous slurry, can be deposited onto deflection member 10directly from a headbox or otherwise, including in a batch process, (notshown). The papermaking belt 100 comprising deflection member 10 heldbetween the embryonic web and the belt 121 can travel past optionaldryers/vacuum devices 148 b and about rolls 119 a, 119 b, 119 k, 119 c,119 d, 119 e, and 119 f in the direction schematically indicated by thedirectional arrow “B”.

A portion of fibers 501 can be deflected into deflection member 10 suchas to cause some of the deflected fibers to be disposed within thedeflection conduits 16 of the deflection member. Depending on theprocess, mechanical and fluid pressure differential, alone or incombination, can be utilized to deflect a portion of fibers 501 intodeflection conduits 16 of deflection member 10. For example, in athrough-air drying process a vacuum apparatus 148 c can apply a fluidpressure differential to the embryonic web disposed on deflection member10, thereby deflecting fibers into the deflection conduits of thedeflection member. The process of deflection may be continued withadditional vacuum pressure, if necessary, to even further deflect thefibers into the deflection conduits of deflection member 10.

Finally, a partly-formed fibrous structure associated with deflectionmember 10 can be separated from the deflection member at roll 119 k atthe transfer to a Yankee dryer 128. By doing so, deflection member 10,having the fibers thereon, is pressed against a pressing surface, suchas, for example, a surface of a Yankee drying drum 128. After beingcreped off the Yankee dryer, a fibrous structure 500 results and can befurther processed or converted as desired.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood asbeing strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead,unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean boththe recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding thatvalue. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean“about 40 mm.”

Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or relatedpatent or application, is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation ofany document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect toany form disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in anycombination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests ordiscloses any such form. Further, to the extent that any meaning ordefinition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning ordefinition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, themeaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shallgovern.

While particular forms of the present disclosure have been illustratedand described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art thatvarious other changes and modifications can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It is thereforeintended to cover in the appended claims all such changes andmodifications that are within the scope of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A deflection member, the deflection membercomprising a reinforcing member and a plurality of tiles fastened to thereinforcing member by one or more fastening elements selected from thegroup consisting of a sewing/stitching thread or filament, a rivet, anadhesive, a curable resin, a mechanical fastener, and combinationsthereof.
 2. The deflection member of claim 1, wherein each of theplurality of tiles has a single tessellating shape, wherein theplurality of tiles are fastened to the reinforcing member to form apatterned framework in a tessellating pattern.
 3. The deflection memberof claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of tiles has a firstshape, and one or more of the plurality of tiles has a second shape, andthe plurality of tiles are fastened to the reinforcing member to form apatterned framework in a tessellating pattern.
 4. The deflection memberof claim 1, wherein the plurality of tiles are fastened to thereinforcing member to form a patterned framework of tiles, wherein thepatterned framework has less than about 3 mm of distance betweenadjacent tiles.
 5. The deflection member of claim 1, wherein each of theplurality of tiles is additively manufactured.
 6. The deflection memberof claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of tiles comprisesdeflection conduits and protuberances.
 7. The deflection member of claim1, wherein a first tile of the plurality of tiles comprises a firstdeflection conduit, and a second tile of the plurality of tilescomprises a second deflection conduit, wherein the first deflectionconduit and the second deflection conduit combine to form a combineddeflection conduit when the first tile and the second tile are fastenedto the reinforcing member adjacent to each other.
 8. A deflectionmember, the deflection member comprising: a. a fluid perviousreinforcing member, the reinforcing member comprising woven filaments;and, b. a patterned framework comprising a plurality of tiles fastenedto the reinforcing member by one or more fastening elements, the tilescomprising regularly spaced protuberances extending in a Z-direction. 9.The deflection member of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of tileshas a single tessellating shape, wherein the plurality of tiles arefastened to the reinforcing member to form a patterned framework in atessellating pattern.
 10. The deflection member of claim 8, wherein oneor more of the plurality of tiles has a first shape, and one or more ofthe plurality of tiles has a second shape, and the plurality of tilesare fastened to the reinforcing member to form a patterned framework ina tessellating pattern.
 11. The deflection member of claim 8, whereinthe patterned framework has less than about 3 mm of distance betweenadjacent tiles.
 12. The deflection member of claim 8, wherein each ofthe plurality of tiles is additively manufactured.
 13. The deflectionmember of claim 8, wherein a first tile of the plurality of tilescomprises a first protuberance, and a second tile of the plurality oftiles comprises a second protuberance, wherein the first protuberanceand the second protuberance combine to form a combined protuberance whenthe first tile and the second tile are fastened to the reinforcingmember adjacent to each other.
 14. A deflection member, the deflectionmember comprising a reinforcing member and a plurality of tiles fastenedto the reinforcing member by a rivet, wherein the rivet and the tile aremade from different materials.
 15. The deflection member of claim 14,wherein each of the plurality of tiles has a single tessellating shape,wherein the plurality of tiles are fastened to the reinforcing member toform a patterned framework in a tessellating pattern.
 16. The deflectionmember of claim 14, wherein one or more of the plurality of tiles has afirst shape, and one or more of the plurality of tiles has a secondshape, and the plurality of tiles are fastened to the reinforcing memberto form a patterned framework in a tessellating pattern.
 17. Thedeflection member of claim 14, wherein the plurality of tiles arefastened to the reinforcing member to form a patterned framework oftiles, wherein the patterned framework has less than about 3 mm ofdistance between adjacent tiles.
 18. The deflection member of claim 14,wherein each of the plurality of tiles is additively manufactured. 19.The deflection member of claim 14, wherein at least one of the pluralityof tiles comprises deflection conduits and protuberances.
 20. Thedeflection member of claim 14, wherein a first tile of the plurality oftiles comprises a first deflection conduit, and a second tile of theplurality of tiles comprises a second deflection conduit, wherein thefirst deflection conduit and the second deflection conduit combine toform a combined deflection conduit when the first tile and the secondtile are fastened to the reinforcing member adjacent to each other.